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Conference interpreters must be a very poorly behaved bunch. Why else would there be so many resources out there dedicated to teaching us proper manners? There are seemingly countless articles, slide presentations and videos explaining the dos and don’ts of interpreter etiquette, as well as the inevitable cartoons poking fun at those interpreters who don’t seem to have consulted any of the former before stepping into the booth. Today, I’d like to go through some of what’s out there.

To me, minding your manners as an interpreter should essentially be a matter of common sense: try to treat your colleagues how you would like them to treat you. However, for the novice interpreter, it’s not always clear just exactly how one would like to be treated, or what constitutes good and bad etiquette in the booth.

I still have vivid, and mostly painful, memories of some of my own slip-ups during my first few weeks in the booth. One day, I had to be reminded by a senior colleague not to munch my sandwich in full view of the delegates (“but I was on my break, what harm could a quick snack do?”). On another occasion, I was told never – NEVER! – to touch another interpreter’s console (“but your turn was over, I thought I’d just switch off your mike for you!”). Needless to say, these are lessons that I will never forget.

Fortunately, thanks to all of the resources available, interpreters these days should not have to learn the hard way. Let’s take a look.

Interpreters are a versatile bunch. If you don’t believe me, just skim the transcripts of the recent Interpreting Journal Chat on Twitter that looked at how interpreters juggle their different professional profiles. During the chat (aptly titled “How many hats do you wear?”), we saw that freelance interpreters may also be translators, voice talents, entrepreneurs, business consultants, community managers, “fixers”, and much more.

My own set of headwear is not all that diverse by comparison, as most of it relates to the practice of conference interpreting and the training of the next generation. But I recently added a new hat to the collection, and that is what I’d like to talk about to you today.